There is an Abbey over 1000 years old on a Volcanic crater lake (Maar) that we stopped to see after our visit at Nurburgring. It was about 20 miles from Nurburg. The church was beautiful. The monks were chanting mass at the time so no photos were allowed inside, but we had a quiet moment of meditation and prayer to their beautiful music.
The complex is quite large, with a store selling seedlings and plants, a bookstore, and restaurants. There is also a 4 star hotel which is rather pricey. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Parking on a Sunday is about 1.50 Euro between the Monastery grounds and the lake. The lake is about a 10 minute walk from the parking lot. The lake is quite large. Maria Laach is located off the autobahn between Trier and Koblenz.
http://www.maria-laach.de/aktuelles/aktuelles.htm The website of the Abbey in German
http://www.maria-laach.de/aktuelles/aktuelles.htm The website of the Abbey in German~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Laach_Abbey English website Wikipedia
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http://www.sacred-destinations.com/germany/maria-laach-abbey.htm Catholic Website in English about it's history and things to see and do here.
